Tibet

Our finale to our time in China. It takes brave (or less intelligent) people to leave for a week and then have about 24 hours before they have to totally move from China. But in spite of being at a ridiculously high altitude and having the customary headache our trip to Tibet was amazing. The people were so interesting. We felt as if each face belonged in National Geographic.

Chengdu

On the way to Tibet we stopped in Chengdu and were able to go to the Panda Preserve. We also saw the world's largest Buddha. We had to see the Buddha from the river. We had a great time with great people.

Huang Shizeng

While we were in China in April the government disabled our ability to read blogs or to post on ours so we didn't add pictures to our blog the last 2 and a half pictures of our time in China. We are attempting to add a few pictures after the fact in order to complete our year there.

Huang Shizeng is a Russian teacher at Tsinghua University. We met one day when Maradel was coming home from teaching and he struck up a conversation with her. Mike came out and joined the conversation. He found out that we were interested in learning Russian and he became our tutor, although it was an opportunity for him to practice his English. We got to be very good friends and he did so much for us. He helped us understand the culture and he also helped us move out by helping us get to the airport. We gave him some of our stuff, like our bicycles that we could't bring home and we were so grateful that he could use them. He was planning to use them for his grandson. He and his wife had us to their house for dinner, and they took us to a wonderful restaurant on campus that we didn't know about. They are one of our favorite memories from China.

Chengde Temples

Botanical Gardens

The Exterior of the School

Volunteer Work at the Primary School

This past Wednesday was our last day to volunteer at the primary school near our apartment. We were surprised to learn this, but it is because this coming Wednesday the students are presenting a very big May Day program (sports). We have observed the entire school or so it seems lining up every afternoon to practice for this special occasion.
The month of May will be spent working hard drilling, cramming, and studying for the all important tests that the students will take in June.
We have worked with all the sixth grade students this semester. They have been delightful and we have learned much from them. This past month we have primarily listened to and made suggestions to their speeches for the English competition they had last weekend.
When we arrived at the school this week, we were presented with gifts of appreciation and then escorted to the different classrooms where the students posed with us. The assistant principal (we aren't sure of her official title) was so kind to take the pictures and email them to us.
The students have been wonderful. They have so much energy and have been especially kind to us.

Sleeper Bus

On our way back from the Yangze we saw a sleeper bus and those of you who know me know how hard it was for me not to take pictures. I guess the people get on the bus and it goes forever. Several of our students talk about 40 and 50 hour train and bus rides and I guess that is the function of these buses. They have seats that are in a permanent reclining position so you basically lie down and you can sleep. The people seem to be pretty content and they pile out of the bus when it stops for potty breaks.

Chengqing

Pictures from Chengquing which is the largest city in China. We got there in the afternoon and didn't have a lot of time to explore, but the pictures capture some of the sights.

Sights of Beijing

The weather has warmed up so we are outdoors a lot more. There are pictures taken on the main street near our campus. Note the window washers, the man sharpening knives, the transportation and the food.

Yangze River

Here are some views from our trips. It was cloudy while we were there but it was still beautiful.

Spring colors in China

Summer Palace

We went to the Summer palace about March 28 and here are some pictures. It is starting to green up and is beautiful. The blossoms were awesome.

Confucious Temple

A new house in the community

We were surprised to find the neighbors decided to do some remodeling. One day we noticed some work was being done on a structure, then we noticed bricks being laid, and now the structures are waiting for a roof. While we were waiting to see what was going to appear, we noticed the windows and odors were removed from a building, then other ones appeared and then this structure was built in front. Sometimes we would love to speak the language so we could really know what was going on.

The Egg Concert Hall (National Centre for the Performing Arts)

What a beautiful place!
You need to know that Mike has now officially created his first blog page complete with collage!

Dahli and Stone Forest

Here are some people, places and sights of southwest China. It is a beautiful area. We saw people watering by hand. But then we saw people using modern equipment also. It is a fascinating area.

Guyling and Li River

The day was so misty we were afraid none of the pictures would turn out, but we were excited that the mountains do show in the pictures. It is a beautiful area!

Hong Kong

These are some pictures from Hong Kong. The one from the bus was taken on our way to or on our way back from Stanley, a neat town on the other side of the island. The first one was taken at the light show that they put on every night for about 15 minutes to a half hour. It was really spectacular.

more from night of lantern festival

Lantern Festival Night

This is a extremely small sample of what it like around our apartment on the night of Lantern Festival at the end of the Lunar New Year. The fireworks have been going on for about 2 hours. These were lit about 200 feet from our apartment. The skies are literally filled with fireworks, and we live on the first floor with buildings blocking our view. It is an exciting night.

The tigers in Harbin

We saw many many tigers and other species at a "wild animal park" in Harbin. The pictures don't really capture the feeling of driving around with them outside the bus.

The white tiger was in a cage, but he was an impressive sight.